WarnerMedia's new streaming service HBO Max is already leading the pack — in terms of price.
Though viewers will need to shell out more for the service than its competitors, the price might actually be a bargain. HBO customers already pay $14.99 a month. With HBO Max, people will pay the same amount but get more bespoke programming and 10,000 hours of previously released movies and television shows.
WarnerMedia held an investor day for its new streaming service on Tuesday, unveiling more details about the highly anticipated platform. HBO Max will be half focused on younger millennial programming, with the other half focused on entertainment for children and adults.
The service, slated to launch in May 2020, will be the home for exclusive shows based on top properties including the Game of Thrones prequel House of Targaryen and a Gossip Girl" sequel. It will also have a rebooted version of *The Boondocks and a musical series set in the Grease 1950s universe, as well as *Sesame Street" and spin-offs from the franchise.
WarnerMedia also has a goal of HBO Max reaching 50 million users by 2025. It already has a head start, given that HBO already has 37 million domestic subscribers and standalone HBO Now customers will get HBO Max for the same price.
While the service does cost three times the price of the upcoming Apple TV+, which is set to launch on November 1 at $4.99, HBO Max will come with a large library of shows and movies. Customers will also be able to find TV series including South Park, Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Big Bang Theory. DC movies including Joker will be available at launch, among other titles.
In order to run some of this content exclusively, WarnerMedia has pulled some of the high-profile content from competitors like Netflix and Hulu. That should give HBO Max a competitive boost, considering that many of these shows are proven hits and household names.
In addition, HBO Max gets benefits from the strong HBO brand. Many consumers equate HBO with quality and award-winning programming. WarnerMedia plans to double its annual spend on HBO content to $2 billion in 2020. It's still a fraction of the $15 billion Netflix is set to spend on shows and movies this year. Even with the smaller budget, HBO dominated at the Emmys this year, taking home 34 top honors. Netflix nabbed 27, while Amazon had 15.
Still, it's not all smooth sailing ahead for HBO Max. The company could potentially dilute the brand name if it expands to shows and movies that aren't up to the same standard loyal HBO audiences are used to.
It's also the late entrant to a marketplace that will already have Apple and Disney's new streaming platforms, as well as Netflix, Hulu, and the myriad of hyperspecific streaming services that cater to niche tastes. While the $15 price point isn't unreasonable, viewers may be checking their wallets by next May to see if they have enough left in the budget to add HBO Max.
A bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) aims to tackle the spread of misinformation on social media platforms, as well as the addictive nature of the sites and negative mental health impacts they have on users. The 'Nudge Act' would require studies to find and compile potential interventions that platforms could use to encourage people to think before they share a post, or log off after spending too much time on an app. The FTC would create rules based on these findings, and hold the platforms accountable. But will it work? Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, joins Closing Bell to discuss the bill, whether real results and regulations could come from it, and more.
We know that the Los Angeles Rams emerged as Super Bowl champions, but the crypto industry also came out a winner on Sunday with several notable companies getting airtime in primetime. However, Richard Smith, author of the Risk Rituals Newsletter, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the campaigns were a 'disappointment' and adds that crypto companies would be wiser spending their resources on creating value.
A.I.-based entertainment company, Deedub, recently raised
$20 million in a Series A round, led by Insight Partners. Deepdub uses A.I. technology to automate the dubbing process for foreign-language movies or TV shows, while using actors' original voices. The company says it can take just two to three minutes of data from an actor's voice and transform the voice into a different language. The funding comes as foreign-language films and shows like Netflix's 'Squid Game' have recently become more popular with audiences in the U.S. and around the world. Oz Krakowski, Chief Revenue Officer at Deepdub, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Energy Vault, the company developing sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the completion of its business combination with Novus Capital Corporation II. Energy Vault develops sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions designed to advance the transition to a carbon free, resilient power grid. Robert Piconi, co-founder and CEO of Energy Vault, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to disucss.
A new mobile app has launched just in time for Valentine's Day. Our.Love bills itself as an A.I.-powered, gamified, relationship wellness app for couples. The app is set in what the company calls the Coupleverse, a virtual world where each couple can build a virtual relationship home as they also build their real-world relationship. Founder and CEO Tal Zlotnitsky joined Cheddar to discuss how the app works. "The concept behind Our.Love is to give people the opportunity to understand where they stand in their relationship through very simple metrics that we provide within the app that will help them in real-time, see where they stand, see where their partner is, and be able to get closer together," he said.
Alyson Wilson, VP of Brand Innovation at Alo Yoga, joins Cheddar News to discuss the yoga apparel company entering the metaverse and teaming up with Spring Studios for New York Fashion Week.
The 21st Annual Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), is returning to Miami on February 24 with proceeds to benefit the future leaders of the hospitality industry. Lee Schrager, the founder and director of the festival, and Food Network star Jeff Mauro joined Cheddar News to discuss what ticket holders can expect, how the festival benefits students, and how Mauro will be paying tribute to fellow food celebrity, Guy Fieri, by hosting a charity auction dinner. "I mean there's nobody bigger, nobody more magnetic right now in the food space than Guy," Maura said. "I mean the guy had a Super Bowl commercial on last night. That's a dream of mine, so I'm one step closer there just by doing a tight 20 minutes at his tribute dinner."
